April 10, 2010

$1.84 Billion in Grants to HIV/AIDS Funding

Welcome to another day in my life. Today is Saturday and I hope you are having a safe and great start to your weekend. It is another beautiful and slightly hot day here in south Florida with highs in the mid 80s.

My 16 year old dog, Chipper, had me up in the middle of the night again. As I have reported in past blogs, Chipper has cancer so I try to spend as much time with him as I can. I originally rescued him from animal control almost five years ago because they were going to put him down because his owner had died. Because he was older, blind and deaf; they considered him not adoptable. So I cherish every day I am given with him even though it means sleepless nights and constant worrying about him. I dread the day when he is in pain and I have to put him down.

Later this morning, I went to our monthly flea market in the parking lot of the new Wilton Manors City Hall which luckily is only a couple of blocks from my house. Really did not see anything I could not live without. But it was great to go since we only have one more before the end of the season and the weather getting too hot to have them until the fall.

But I have what I am hoping is good news. I read about Ryan White receiving more funding. The following information was reported on POZ.com.

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program is getting a booster shot of $1.84 billion in grants to ensure people living with HIV/AIDS continue to receive lifesaving care and medication. The money arrives from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Seventy five percent of the funds must be spent on core medical services such as drug assistance and health insurance payments, and the remaining 25 percent will go to support services including medical transportation.

More than $1 billion will be given to states and territories under Part B of the Ryan White Program, with $800 million going toward AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAP). Additional funds will be used for base grants for home and community based organizations, insurance continuation and other services. In addition, 16 states are eligible for Emerging Community grants based on their respective numbers of AIDS cases over the last five years.

About $652 million will pay for primary care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS under Part A of the Ryan White Program. These awards are distributed to eligible metropolitan areas with the highest HIV/AIDS caseloads, while transitional grants will go to areas experiencing an increase in cases. This also includes $44 million for the Minority AIDS Initiative, part of HHS’s larger plan created in 1998 to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities by the end of 2010.

More than $48 million, awarded under Part C, will fund early intervention services that include medical, nutritional and psychological treatments for HIV positive people. Grants will also go to community health centers and nonprofit providers who offer primary care to people living with HIV. It may also be used to hire case managers to help access care and treatment.

“These grants help ensure Americans, especially those in underserved rural and urban communities, affected by HIV/AIDS get access to the care they need through quality health care and support systems,” HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. “The care and services these grants support will help Americans living with HIV/AIDS to live longer, healthier lives.”

So let us hope the funding helps to get rid of the current ADAP waiting lists quickly. An American life is a terrible thing to waste.

Until we meet again; here's wishing you health, hope, happiness and just enough.